Do as the Palauans, and that’s just what we did! While we stayed in Palau we tried out various local cuisines, you know, really immersed ourselves in the local culture. Here’s a list of suggestions if you ever find yourself with a rumble in your tummy in Palau.

Sea Passion Hotel (Breakfast): We realize that most Americans and foreigners might find the breakfast buffet quite strange. I say this, because the options range from things like rice, to fish sticks, to ham, pancakes, soup, to fresh fruit, cereal, waffles, tuna sandwiches, noodles, to made to order eggs. We have lived in Korea the past year or so and have grown very used to the non-breakfasts options when traveling in the wee morning hours. All and all it was perfect to us. We felt there’s no feeling of needing to over indulge in food before our boat rides to do tours, diving, or snorkeling.

Oh! Almost forgot! Make sure you order yourself a fresh fruit juice or shake to sip on while you take it easy by the hotel pool or private beach. We highly recommend the orange banana or pineapple shake.

Located on the main street in Koror
Phone: 680.488.0066
Website: www.palauseapassion.com

Sams Tours had a restaurant on location -Sam’s Bottom Time Bar & Grill: You can shower at Sam’s, super nice after a long dive or snorkel trip. We were told the sashimi is rather tasty.. The menu features hamburgers, burritos, ice cold Red Rooster, and outstanding iced tea!

Open 7 days a week from 7:30-21:00
Phone: 680.488.7267
Website: www.samstours.com

Kramer’s: Located within a short walking distance from the Sea Passion hotel. The restaurant is wonderful for late night meals. It is a comfy waterfront place. The menu features typical entrees, but also allows for some tasty twists, like having your fish blackened (we highly recommend this). Our group really enjoyed the freshness of the restaurant. Our favorite dishes hands-down were the the Sashlmi Poke (palauan sashimi) and the blackened mahi mahi fish wish a side of garlic mashed potatoes

The Drop-Off: Also conveniently located within a very short walk from the Sea Passion Hotel. We really enjoyed the outdoor marine view. Our favorite dishes hands-down were the Poke (palauan sashimi), and the freshly caught grilled bluefin tuna steaks. We can’t even describe in words just how amazing these dishes were. You simply have to take our word for it on this one folks!

Open 7 days a week!
Phone: 680.488.1755/2009
Website: www.necomarine.com/facility.html

The Taj: MMMmm! (mouth watering while saying Taj). Located not to far from the Sea Passion hotel. A descent walk into town, or a nice short car ride, you decide. Incredible Indian cuisine. We loved the large outside deck eating area. The food, uhg the food! Where to start? Okay, appetizer, Fish Amritsari cubes of seasonal red snapper, batter fried. The Baingan Bharta Eggplant grilled over charcoal, mashed and cooked with fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger and spices. A house specialty. The garlic, cheese, and stuffed nan, and Kulfi Indian ice cream enriched with nuts and flavored with rose water. All were all a huge hit in our books. Bonus! We were able to get picked up from the hotel and dropped off as well. Excellent service all around!

Located on the 2nd floor of the PDC building in downtown Koror.
Phone: 680.488.2227
Hours: Open 7 days a week. Lunch: 11:00-14:00 & Dinner: 17:00-22:00
Website: www.tajpalau.com

Elilai: We’d have to vote that Elilai was the most elegant restaurant in Palau that we had visited. The cuisine is “Asian-Mediterranean fusion”. The view is breathtaking! Make sure to call ahead and get reservations with a view. the teeny tiny Japanese waitresses in their floral sarongs are amazingly sweet. The food is quite good, however, we found the prices to be a bit high for the food itself. Our group ordered the mangrove crab spaghetti, the seafood salad, tuna sashimi, and the Milky Way Course menu. Last but certainly not least, for dessert we ordered the homemade coconut ice cream, a must! We did have one in the group that ordered the lemon tart with Italian meringue, pretty delish too.

Located on the 1st floor of 1732 Belvedere East Ngerkebesang Island, Koror
Phone: 680.488.8866
Hours: Open 7 days a week from 11:00-23:00
Website: www.elilaipalau.com

Little Italy: I’m sure from the name you guessed the cuisine was Italian. Great job! Your guess was absolutely correct. On a long downtown hike one night we stumbled upon this quaint little place. We were instantly greeted by the fresh oregano and basil growing outside on the restaurants covered patio dining area. The waitstaff were very helpful and very kind too.

Our group opted for the eggplant appetizer, a caprese salad, the smoked sausage pasta dish, and a 4 cheese spinach pasta. Plus, when you order, they bring you a nice little basket of assorted breads. We all really enjoyed the crusty rosemary bread!

Guess what? The menu also features excellent desserts too! Tiramisu, Pana cotta, and Limoncello with a raspberry drizzle.

Smacks lips, shouts out È squisito! (delicious in Italian).

Located on the main street in Koror and right across the street from the Palasia hotel.
Phone: 680.488.6637

Mr. B surprised me and signed me up for the Milky Way lagoon tour. The lagoon is just magnificent in color! The lagoon is surrounded entirely by small rock islands and only has two entrances you can come in and go out through.

The guides dive down a few meters into the ocean and bring up buckets of glacial white claylike mud. Them main attraction is that you smear the white claylike mud all over yourself. When I saw all over I mean they want you to be covered in head to toe, even hair! I was adventurous and smeared the soft mud on my body carefully. I wasn’t sold on putting it into my hair, however others did and were just fine.

The mud is bottled up and sold for $100 US Dollars locally. Crazy! Not to be stereotypical but the Koreans really embraced this experience with open arms. I guess it makes sense coming from the land of BB whitening creams, lotions, potions, etc.

This trip was a blast! Another great part of the tour was meeting a girl named April and a guy named Fonzie. I ended up exchanging blog information with April and we plan to keep in touch. This girls amazingly talented with a camera. I look forward to watching her business continue to grow! Maybe a future visit to South Korea too?

We Have hundreds of photos and video footage from our trip so far, but no time to upload them. We will take the time after we make it back to reality, otherwise known as Korea. For now we will continue to leave you all with sneak peeks.

So, you want to know what we’ve been spending our days doing thus far? Diving, snorkeling, diving, snorkeling, naturally. We spend the entire day on or near the water. That’s quite alright with me! I feel like I should have been born on a boat! I’m pretty sure Mr. B feels the same way.

We grab a bite to eat from our neatly packed bento boxes or bagged sandwich bags. Each time we get to enjoy lunch on a different remote island location. Twice so far on the island that the television show Survivor (10th season) was filmed on. How neat is that?! Can you tell? They totally have got me, hook line and sinker. Where’s the dotted line to sign for us to move here forever? He-he-he!

The sunsets here in Palau is just breathtaking each time I see it, never gets old. There are no bright shiny blinking street signs or lamps like in Korea, no restaurants or tall buildings everywhere you look, no billboards…well there was this one…

Yep, still standing here! Ah! It’s finally time to put on that sunhat, those flip-flops and sunglasses, and slather on a heavy dose of sunblock. Yes, yes, we know It’s only 8AM but we can already taste that first refreshing frozen tropical drink on the tip of our tongues.

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